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Find and share the next big thing with iCoolHunt

iCoolHunt is a social game that has been available for the iPhone for some time. Based around the idea of searching for, and sharing, “cool stuff” that you spot as you make your way through life, it’s now launched on the Web, allowing anyone to join in this fun and beautifully presented service.

You get started with iCoolHunt by finding something you like the look of online, uploading it, tagging it with a location and description and then publishing. Other users can then vote on your uploads, deciding whether they’re cool or not. Each item you upload is dubbed your “prey” and you can gain points and status within the iCoolHunt community by “catching prey” that becomes popular.

Sharing items that you like seems to be developing into a real trend for 2011. Earlier today, for example, we covered Fashiolista, a startup based around sharing fashion shopping finds. iCoolHunt is more wide-ranging in its approach, with categories for fashion, design, lifestyle, technology and music.

The product of an Italian team with operations in San Francisco and Singapore, it’s a gorgeous website with a well-realised interface that really makes you want to get involved. In coming weeks, a new ‘Trendbox’ feature will be added to the site, allowing users hand-pick items they believe form an emerging trend. Others can then contribute to the Trendbox, helping affirm it as a true trend and earning extra points for the person who spotted it.

The real question is whether social taste-based networks will be a passing fad or a long-term development in social media? Maybe we should put them in a Trendbox and find out.